Stop Playing Football Games in Other Countries

We got a pretty great game to open the 2025 college football season, with Iowa State taking down Kansas State 24-21 in a Week 0 Top 25 matchup. Matt Campbell made a great decision at the end of the game to go for it on 4th down to end the game rather than a kick a field goal and need one more stop.

But all I could think about as I watched this entire game was how stupid it is that this great Big 12 rivalry game was played in Dublin, Ireland. It was pouring rain for much of the first half, to the point that the field lines needed to be repainted at halftime and the teams combined for four first half turnovers. The sloppy first half was probably also not aided by the 8-hour flights for these teams and I would be surprised if they were on top of their games even next week.

And then there's the most obvious reason why this game should have not been played in Ireland: it is a college football rivalry game that will likely impact the Big 12 title race and those should be played exclusively on campus. Michigan traveling to Germany to play Western Michigan next season is also moronic, but at least that game doesn't really mean anything. I have a feeling this game would have played out a little differently if it was played in Manhattan, Kansas.

But while the location of this game sucked, it feels amazing to be back. That was a great appetizer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend because come next Thursday, it is all systems go for the next four months.

At least we took a little bit of America across the pond.